As the economy continues to improve, credit card issuers have begun to loosen their vice grip on lending standards in order to raise borrowing limits for consumers. But the move to provide extend credit to those with blemished histories has raised concerns with consumer groups. [More]

Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, companies can’t robocall you on your cellphone unless you’ve given them prior consent to contact you at that number. Now the banking industry is trying to gain exemptions for this rule, claiming there are times when they just need to call your cellphone even though the need isn’t urgent enough to have an actual human make that call. They also don’t want to be penalized for robocalling the wrong number. [More]

The Federal Reserve unveiled its ruling today on the fees banks can charge merchants for processing debit cards at 21 cents a swipe. The cap is far less restrictive than the 12 cent ceiling set by the Dodd-Frank bill, but is still less than the current 44 cent average. It’s uncertain how this will affect the consumer. [More]

What’s going on inside the minds of credit card companies now that the CARD credit card reform act is coming down the pike? A customer service supervisor for a major credit card company emailed us to give us the low-down: reduced grace periods, cutting credit lines, increased fees on balance transfers, and, of course, jacked up APRs. Here’s the details:

NYT: Bankers are warning they’re going to have to “mean up” credit cards if the reforms expected to get voted on today go through. Among the ways people who pay off their bills in full every month and always follow the rules might get dinged:

Credit card reform is bad, says the American Bankers Association, an industry trade group. The ABA sent a letter around to Senators on Tuesday warning against credit card reform. They say that new regulation will mean credit card companies will have to cut off credit to some consumers completely “when they need it most.”